Let's get a great view, practice our basic navigation skills, communication skills, and practice packing our own food and water - cause we will need it!

The idea of this hike is that it is physically less elevation then the Sea to Summit, but will require more self-sufficiency for a longer adventure. Hikers should study the route and the weather in advance, which will enable and empower us to make productive conversations about routes, breaks, direction choices, and risk management. 

We should go clockwise around this trail, enjoying the moderately challenging climb, and then navigating through the trail options down and around the lake. We will have a snack breaks at the various Vistas according to group preference, and then at least one more longer break on the North Beach/Wharf. 

This trail is well populated, but not as well marked as Rice/S2S, and has bathrooms/water only at the beginning. There are no facilities in between. This means hikers need to study the trail in advance and have a mental "best guess" on what parts will be more difficult, and how long it will take. Trip reports seem to indicate it is slightly longer than what is listed on Alltrails.

Here is the description of the trail: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/british-columbia/diez-vistas-and-lake-buntzen-loop

Hikers should be prepared to go with the 10 essentials. Although there will be other people one the trail, we should be prepared to be independent.

This trail could be completed in a wide variety of times, but let's not rush. Advertised times range from 4.5 hours to 7 hours (with breaks). Plan for 6 hours, and give ourselves LOTS of time to take pictures, rest along the way, eat snacks and make friends. Depending on how the group feels, we may want to stay longer and enjoy a swim before heading home (but it will be cold). Plan for this to take the day and avoid making early evening plans - because sometimes the drive back takes a while.

Starting early has a number of benefits:

• less stress about finding a parking spot on a popular/busy Saturday morning
• lots of time to hike in the warm daylight
• not driving home in the dark, and having a lot of time to drive home in case of a bad traffic

Transportation:

• Price to carpool with Kerry, or Paro, or Carpool in an Evo (4 of us in an Evo = $25 each) - if anyone drives, a parking pass is required, See the link to book the pass: https://www.bchydro.com/community/recreation_areas/buntzen_lake.html
• OR Bus 179 goes to Buntzen Lake, the first one leaves at 8:00am on Saturdays and arrives at the Lake at 8:23am. Buses run every 30 minutes. Last bus leaves Butzen Lake at 7:31pm. Or, a 19-21 minute Uber/Taxi from one of the closer Skytrain stations.

What to pack:

• 10 essentials, including options for lunch, snacks, water. If you think you will need more water than what you want to carry, consider bringing a water filter for when we descend to the Lake. There are no facilities along the way.
• first aid kit - if you aren't sure what to include, do some online research, and google what others have done. It's a good way to get you thinking about what you may want to carry.
• a few good jokes

In the case of poor weather: This hike can be modified for the rain, we simply go around the lake itself without the "Diez Vistas" part. The day prior, if it is raining, or projected to rain the day of, we will discuss the plan according to the preferences of the group. Doing the loop around Buntzen Lake in the rain is a really good opportunity to test your gear, and yourself, about how much you can handle. Please consider a willingness to hike in the rain if it is only a slight drizzle. Epic downpour or imitation monsoon can reasonably be cancelled.

Here is the Plan B trail description: https://www.alltrails.com/trail/canada/british-columbia/buntzen-lake-trail